Considering studying in Germany? Grab the Stier by the Hörnern and do it!

By Claire Brown

- I’m currently studying at Universität Passau for my Erasmus year and I’m loving the experience. Passau is a beautiful, little city in south Bavaria situated on the German-Austria border where three rivers meet. The surroundings are truly breath-taking and the location is perfect for travelling to other interesting places, particularly in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany.

It has unfortunately taken me until now to realise that I could have studied my entire degree here in Germany; studying an interesting subject for a lot less money, whilst also learning German. I definitely missed a trick there! But just because I missed out on the opportunity doesn’t mean that you have to. As you know, course fees for further study in the UK are ridiculously high right now so you may be looking for other options...

For UK students, further study in Germany has a great deal of benefits, for example: • The courses are much cheaper or, in many cases, free. HSBC said Germany was the least expensive study destination for UK students.• Universities in Germany offer a great range of quality degree and masters courses available to both German and international students. • The opportunity to learn German is an opportunity not to pass up if you want to get ahead in your career. German is actually the most commonly spoken mother tongue in Europe.

The best thing is that you don’t need to know German beforehand. Where I’m studying now in Passau there are German courses on offer throughout the year for students of all German language abilities. The aim at the end of the courses is that the students achieve C1 (advanced) level German and pass the DSH exam, a language proficiency test which must be taken by foreign students in order to qualify for study at any German university. The courses cost a margin of the price of a year of further study in the UK and after the language courses, degree and masters programs at the Universität Passau are free!

I only have good things to say about Passau and the university here. I think it’s the perfect place for international students to study because it’s not such a big city so it’s much easier to meet new people and make friends. The teaching and support here for international students is also great (the lecturers actually bother to learn your name!) and there are lots of activities and trips organised by the uni.

I wholeheartedly recommend studying in Germany – whether it be just for one semester, one year or for your entire undergraduate or postgraduate studies. There is no better way to learn a language than to live in the country itself and the experience can do wonders for your employability – employers look for these kinds of “life experience”. However cliché it may sound, studying abroad is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, an experience you’ll remember forever and, of course, lots of fun!